TSMC stated that the A16 chip manufacturing technology under development does not rely on ASML's latest high-NA EUV lithography equipment.

Technology and Cost Assessment: At a meeting in Amsterdam, Zhang Xiaoqiang, Senior Vice President of TSMC Business Development, pointed out that although high-NA EUV technology can reduce chip design size by two-thirds, its high cost and the reliability of existing technology are factors that the company needs to balance. TSMC is the largest user of ASML's existing EUV machines, with a cost of 200 million euros, while the price of new high NA devices exceeds 350 million euros.

Industry impact: As the largest technology company in Europe, ASML dominates the lithography system market, which uses beams of light to create circuits for chips. Lithography technology is one of the key technologies to improve performance in chip manufacturing, and it is also a limiting factor that can be achieved in chip design dimensions.